Thief of The Art, Thief of The Heart
by xKuroSeraphimx
Summary: AU Nel Zelpher's line of work isn't an easy one. Occupation: Stealing, studying, and more stealing. So what do you do when the secrecy of your work besides studying is in jeapordy? Nelx? AlbelxNel CliffxMirage
1. Chapter 1

**Authoress Notes:** Greetings, everyone! I've come back with a new AU fic! I'm sorry to just jump out with a new story when I should be focusing on my current ones. I'll try to update my stories and this one as fast as I can. So if you like, review, and enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own SO3.

**Pairings:** **Nelx?**, AlbelxNel, CliffxMirage

**Plot/Summary:** (AU) Nel Zelpher's line of work isn't an easy one. Occupation: Stealing, studying, and more stealing. So what do you do when the secrecy of your work (besides studying) is in jeopardy?

**Thief of the Art, Thief of the Heart**

**By: xKuroSeraphimx**

**Chapter I**

-----

_For years, on the planet known as Elicoor, many intricate and fine works of art have been stolen from various museums…_

"_Dammit! The artifact's been stolen! That low-life thief got away again!" raged an officer standing before a pedestal that once held a highly praised item. All that was left on the velvety, scarlet cushion was a simple note._

"_Heh, this was **too** easy…"_

_Who had stolen these precious intricacies of imagination? With the sudden rise of ransack bandits thieves going around, there were too many suspects to count._

_Yet there was one thing that differed from the rest. This thief was overly cunning; he got through any state-of-the-art defense mechanism built over the generations, and always managed to conceal their true identity from the public and press. The warning notes usually left before the actual thievery occurred were the only things the perpetrator left behind._

_The name of this infamous shadow thief was…_

_-----_

"Heh! Lookit what's all over the news, kids! The sacred sculpture of the Goddess Palmira was stolen yesterday!"

Class members of the senior echelon scrambled over their desks to look shoulder upon shoulder at the article a buff, blond-haired man held high for all to see. Cliff Fittir, commonly known as the 'King of Pranks' for his antics with his partner in crime, Mirage Koas, on their poor principal of the prestigious high school of Peterny.

Grinning from ear to ear as he got his audience nearly encircling him, he read aloud, "_Notorious master thief, the Crimson Blade, has struck yet again, making away with the magnificently carved statue of one of our primary goddesses, the Statue of Palmira. The act of thievery occurred exactly when the Crimson Blade had warned the staff of the museum: 8:00. The Security System tried its best to protect the artifact valiantly, yet_…" At this, Cliff stopped, roaring with laughter with some of the classmates.

"'**Valiantly**,' this guy says," he began. "Yet what difference did that make? We all know for years this Crimson Blade guy made away with over hundreds of precious works of art!" With his amused grin widening as the other students began murmuring about the news, Cliff began reading the rest of the passage.

As a small smile stretched upon her lips, Mirage Koas turned to one of her friends. "Honestly, he shouldn't make such a deal about it, don't you think?" she asked lightly.

Nel Zelpher, who was absently twirling a mechanical pencil in her hand, stopped her fiddling and shifted her attention from the window. "I guess so," she half-heartedly shrugged. "Not that I care, really…"

"I have to admit, I still wonder why he gets so worked up over this whole 'Crimson Blade' thing…" Maria Traydor added, flipping stray locks of azure hair over her shoulder.

The blonde woman shrugged. "He gets his resources from me or Welch. You know how he wants to be a reporter or something like that. Besides, it's near time the attention around him thins…"

The entrance to the room opened and Sophia Esteed strode in, looking rather breathless. Gathering some oxygen within her lungs for a moment, she straightened and walked over to the three girls sitting around Nel's desk. "Hey, you guys. Good morning!"

The three young women replied back before Maria spoke, "So, what's wrong back home? Thought you were late again?" the azure-haired girl asked with a teasing note in her voice.

Sophia flashed her tongue. "Stupid Fayt… He made my alarm clock go off early, so I thought I…" She growled, shaking slightly in anger. "Where is he, anyway? I know he got here before me…"

Mirage promptly pointed an accusing finger towards the boy standing next to Cliff and looking at the newspaper. Pouting a bit, and muttering under her breath about some revenge, Sophia calmed herself and turned to Nel, noticing the way the redhead wasn't even paying attention to the crowd over on the other side of the classroom.

"What's wrong, Nel? Bad morning, too?" Sophia asked.

Nel shook her head. "Clair forced me to wake up with the act of pouring ice over my legs. Let's just say the numerous projects assigned from our _dear_ Science and Chemistry teachers kept me up almost all night." She shook her head, stifling a yawn with her hand.

Maria hissed sympathetically, yet the amused glint in her eyes suggested otherwise. "Poor you…" She really didn't sound as concerned as she was trying to look for her friend.

Catching this, Nel rolled her forest-colored eyes. "At least it's better than what Adray would have done had _he_ decided to wake me up…" She closed her eyes, shivering at the thought.

"Indeed…" Mirage replied, patting the red-haired woman on the shoulder.

Maria's head shot up a few seconds later. "Oh look, here comes arrogant pretty boy." She announced dryly, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Albel Nox ambled leisurely in the room, and immediately, as if on some random cue, the girls in the classroom were fawning at the sight of him. Save for Mirage, Nel, Maria and Sophia, who frowned instead and decided to ignore his crimson stare. Yet from the look on his face, he seemed pretty tired as well. Without sparing another glance, he sat in his designated seat, propping his long legs on his desk. Crossing his legs at the knee, he soon began to read a small notebook he fished out of his pocket.

"Hm. For some reason, he's not acting like his all-mighty self…" Sophia observed, finding his current demeanor during a Monday morning disturbing.

Nel shrugged. "At least he's not talking. Makes my life considerably easier… And also… I didn't know he could _read_."

Maria made a sound that could have been mistaken for laughter. "Thank you for voicing my thoughts there."

"You're welcome," the redhead simply replied.

"You two…" Mirage began with a lightly admonishing tone of voice. "If you haven't noticed, he's been rather well-behaved over the past few months now that Sir Woltar appointed him as commander over the Security System."

Maria mockingly clapped. "Well, whoop-dee-do." She replied sarcastically. "Though, I guess I do have to give him credit for one so young to obtain that title. I suppose Vox isn't too happy being demoted to a lower rank than someone younger than him, hmm?"

Mirage nodded, that small smile on her lips widening slightly. "Not at all. Though, on Sir Woltar's request, he'll abide with it… For now, I would assume." She added vaguely.

"Heh. With the way that warmonger thinks and acts, I'm surprised he hasn't done anything yet." Nel spoke, turning around in her seat to face the other girls. "Sooner or later, he's going to snap."

"Very true," Sophia agreed with a nod of her head.

"Good morning to you fine ladies!" Cliff called jovially as he walked towards them, the show and tell event finally over. Fayt followed him and, obviously knowing of Sophia's rage to get back at him, stayed close to Cliff's left side. If the need arose, he'd use the blond-haired man as a human shield. Cliff waved the newspaper. "So you've heard, right?" he asked expectantly.

His female blonde counterpart sighed, rubbing her temples. "Yes, Cliff. The whole campus probably heard your loud, reporter voice about the _infamous_ Crimson Blade."

Despite her words, his grin grew wider. "Still, that Crimson Blade guy knows how to steal! I mean, even with Pudding over there," he pointed a thumb towards Albel, who could obviously hear him yet still kept on reading the pages of his small notebook, "the guy stole the statue right from under his and Vox's noses! Pretty sad accomplishment since I heard Vox was the one planning the whole thing and Nox went along with it."

"I'd love to stay and chat, but," Nel interjected, looking at the clock and grimacing slightly. "But I have to go to the art room and check it over. My shift." Slowly, she stood up from her seat, waving a hand to the group before disappearing behind the sliding door.

Arching a brow, Fayt asked, "Something wrong with her?" he asked, looking at the direction the redhead went off to.

Sophia shrugged. "You know the projects are due in a few days… We're all getting pretty tired from doing those things, don't you think?" Suddenly, an eerie smile curved up her lips, and a shadow somehow formed over her forehead. "Now Fayt, about this morning…"

-----

Making her way down to the art room on the first floor of Peterny High, Nel yawned, not even bothering to hide it. Finally reaching her destination, she tried to twist the doorknob open, but it refused to turn fully. Frowning slightly, her eyes caught sight of the small panel next to the door.

… _A computer lock, eh?_ She thought questioningly. Checking the halls around her to see if anybody was around, she deemed the hall clear and began to work around the code needed to open the door. After a few seconds of button mashing, the panel flashed in approval before the door automatically slid open. With a triumphant grin, Nel proceeded to walk in.

That is, until a hand was placed upon her shoulder.

Clearly jumping and forestalling the yelp of surprise that immediately rushed up her throat, Nel calmed herself before turning to look at the face the hand belonged to. "Oh, Professor M-Milenya!" she greeted, bowing respectfully at the older woman.

"Oh dear, did I startle you, child?" Milenya asked, concern wrinkling her features.

"N-Not at all! I was just getting ready to check the supplies around this art room, you see." Nel gestured to the room behind her. "May I ask what are you doing down here, Professor?"

Milenya, after hearing her response, calmed herself, folding her hands in front of her. "I was going to retrieve something I needed from the art room, dear. For my class, you see." She paused. "But… Last I checked, I heard that this room was computer locked so I brought this," she held out a card key, "with me. Did you open it?"

_Crap!_ Nel thought in panic, but held herself together. Berating herself and reminding herself not to open complicated placed locks in public, she replied, "Err… No, Professor. I guess one of the school staff was reminded that I had a job to do in here, and opened it for me so I found the… lock open."

"I see." Milenya replied. "Well then, shall we go about on our own business?"

"… Sure."

-----

The red-haired woman strode past the barred gates of her home and began to walk to the entrance. Nel looked up at the three-story building, the afternoon sun casting shadows from the trees and walls surrounding the building to creep up the walls. Sighing and shifting her heavy backpack, she proceeded towards the door and opened it.

Once she set a foot down, Nel found that there was no ground and immediately, before she fully fell into darkness, grabbed the ledge and expertly jumped back on the foyer. Glaring at the sight of a long, six-foot gap in the hall, Nel prepared herself. Pushing up the sleeves of her burgundy sweater, she placed her hands on the sides of the doorway and leaped across the chasm.

She began running. A minute later, Nel stopped, just as arrows came bursting out of the left side of the hall, embedding their sharp tips in the opposite wall. Increasing her pace as she resumed running, the redhead halted as various items in the hall - vases, paintings, and tables - began lighting lasers in her path.

_Ugh, again? When will they quit it!_ Nel thought exasperatedly. Making sure her pack was secure on her back, she rushed forward. With catlike grace and reflexes, she twisted, ducked, and turned away from the harmful rays of red lights and continued running.

The last obstacles she needed to avoid were sudden guillotines that began swinging left to right. The young woman tsked before lowering her body and rolling past the first blade, then leapt to avoid the other.

Finally, letting out a sigh of relief, the traps in the halls vanished. Scratching her head, Nel made it to the true door and raised a hand to twist it, but paused. Frowning, she took off one shoe and dropped it upon the knob.

As she suspected, the whole shoe was fried from the electric volts that shocked it from the knob. Arching a brow, she made to turn the knob again, and found that it was safe.

Pushing the door open, Nel peeked her head in. "… Uh, I'm home?" she announced.

Her hand was soon yanked from the doorknob as Clair Lasbard pulled her into a fierce hug. "Good job, Nel! That was your best performance yet!" she cried, hugging her friend tightly.

"Okay… Ow! You can let go of me now!" Nel snapped, pushing the gray-haired woman off her, allowing her lungs to get some air.

Clair was still smiling broadly until her father, Adray Lasbard, strode into their large living room. "Very well done, Nel! Your father would be proud!" He pronounced joyously, his big, father-figure grin curling his lips.

At the mention of her father, she smiled. "Thanks… Though," Nel looked at the both of them critically. "Next time, leave out the arrows okay? I swear I'm going to be killed by your _training_ regimen…"

"Done," Clair agreed before Nel began to climb up the stairs. "Oh yes, Nel! You haven't forgotten about the—"

Nel waved a hand offhandedly. "Yeah, yeah… I know." With that, she disappeared into her room.

Adray rubbed his hairy chin thoughtfully. "She's fully grown, don't you think? Just like her father…" He said in a voice as if he was reminiscing a memory of long ago.

His daughter nodded in agreement. "Indeed she is. After all, it is her job to—"

Suddenly, there was a muffled explosion coming from Nel's room before said girl burst through her door, her left eye twitching slightly.

"Adray! Can you _stop_ putting _explosives_ in my _pillow_?"

-----

"_Tonight, at 9:00 pm, I will steal the Ruby of Apris._

_-Crimson Blade"_

The young man stared blankly at the warning note that the museum staff gave him. Checking his watch, he checked that it was a minute till nine, and soon, the infamous shadow thief was said to arrive.

"Are the defenses checked?" He asked Vox, captain of the police squadron.

The older man nodded. "Everything's placed in front of the artifact. We'll get that damned thief sooner or later." Vox growled, a promised threat hidden in his words.

The other man grunted, shoving his hands into his pocket before making his way towards the inside of Peterny's museum. Before he got a few feet away from the crowd of news reporters surrounding the steps of the museum, he spoke, "It's near time. The Crimson Blade should be coming in soon. Get ready." Albel Nox commanded seriously, but a small smile was curving up his lips.

_Soon, Crimson Blade, your _free _thieving days are over… That is, unless this thief will accept a proposition._

_-----_

Well, that's the end of that chap. Thanks a bunch to BlueTrillium, who's my new beta, for proofreading this! If you liked it, you review please!


	2. Chapter 2

**Authoress Notes:** Thanks go to the people who reviewed the previous chapter. Keep the reviews coming, and I'll update faster. Also, I know the plot is based around **D.N.Angel **but what I'm going for later on is different. Different, yes, but I will keep minor things that are close to **D.N.Angel**. With that note off, enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own SO3.

**Pairings:** **Nelx?**, AlbelxNel, CliffxMirage

**Plot/Summary:** (AU) Nel Zelpher's line of work isn't an easy one. Occupation: Stealing, studying, and more stealing. So what do you do when the secrecy of your work (besides studying) is in jeopardy?

**Thief of the Art, Thief of the Heart**

**By: xKuroSeraphimx**

**Chapter II**

-----

"… Apris, these defenses are sad…"

The Crimson Blade popped the kinks out of her shoulders as she finally entered the end of the long, darkened hallway. Grinning, Nel Zelpher looked over her shoulder at her handiwork: disarming the traps or scanners that were scattered haphazardly around the hall. Laser beams invisible to the naked eye, trap buttons and slightly misplaced looking tiles on the floor that were just waiting to be sprung at her and attempt to catch her… And other obvious and not-so-well-placed traps here and there.

In all honesty, the way they tried to catch her would even make Clair Lasbard bristle.

_At least I didn't arrive late…_ Nel sighed, looking down at her apparel and recalling the brief story behind it…

-----

The back doorbell rang several times in a row in a rather enthusiastic manner. Clair announced she would answer, as she was busy washing bits of the night's dinner they shared in the sink and walked over to the_ safe _entranceway to the Lasbard and Zelpher house.

Washing her hands with a rag, Clair proceeded towards the door. Twisting the gold knob, the gray-haired woman was greeted with a familiar face, and a sudden hug from the newly arrived guest. "Hiya, Clair! I'm finally here!"

Clair patted the younger girl on the back before pulling away. "Good to see you too, Welch. I'm sure you've brought what we've been expecting, correct?" she asked politely.

Welch Vineyard vigorously nodded her head. "Of course! I just can't _wait_ to see dear Nel in this getup!" Welch replied, looking around the kitchen interior until Clair began leading her out of that part of the house.

Once the two were the stairs up to the second floor, Welch spoke, "So! How are your father and Nel?"

"Oh, Father endured a light scolding from Nel because he placed a few explosives in her room," Clair answered, sighing at her father and the redhead's antics a few hours ago. "Nel should be about done with her homework…"

"Good! 'Cause she _has_ to get ready for the—" Suddenly, Welch stopped and bolted for Nel's room, leaving the other woman arching a brow at her behavior. Did she hear something amiss in Nel's room?

Obviously she did, as Welch burst into the room, finding the red-haired woman about to jump out her window and onto the nearby tree. "Aha! You can't get out of this one, Nel Zelpher!"

"G-Get away!" Nel was about to leap onto a thick limb of the tree before the pig-tailed brunette grasped her ankles firmly and began to drag her back into her room.

"Come… _on_, Nel! This… is… only… one fitting!" Welch grunted as she put a lot of effort into pulling the thief back inside.

"That's what you say every time!" Nel latched her hands onto the frame of her window as the other woman applied more of her strength, but she was quickly losing her grip. That is, until Clair arrived at the doorway.

"C-Clair! Get her off me! I'll find my _own_ outfit to wear tonight!" She pleaded, her whole body now stretched over her bed.

Clair, however, merely smiled. "You think I'm that stupid to stop her?" She asked, trying to look as innocent as a bystander looked when witnessing a man set himself on fire.

_Traitor!_ Nel thought, just as Welch, with a great heave, sent her flying into said woman with an audible thump. Quickly getting off of her, Nel tried to leave again, only to have Welch stop her in her tracks. She struggled, but couldn't fight her off.

Finally, Nel conceded. "Okay! Fine! But it better be just one fitting. I'm getting tired of running around in weird clothes…"

"Don't worry, Nel! This time, I'll make you look more suave!" Welch promised, releasing the redhead from her headlock.

"If you two would hurry with Nel's choice of clothing for tonight," Clair calmly interrupted. She pointed to the clock suspended above Nel's desk, showing it was only fifteen minutes till nine. "And stop bickering among yourselves, I'd like the Crimson Blade to arrive at the exact time we specified on the card, hmm?" With that, the gray-haired female closed the door behind her.

Only afterwards did Nel and Welch let shivers of fear run down their spines at the dark undertone in Clair's behavior before her departure.

-----

_Note to self: Never go past Clair's tolerance. NEVER._ Nel thought before running her forest-colored eyes over the clothing Welch had given her to wear.

She was wearing a long, khaki-colored cape with a hood that covered most of her head, while underneath, a black, skintight tunic stuck to her flesh. Starting under her breasts and ending at the curve of her waist was a brown, leather girdle, strapped in place by two belts. Nel's pants were loose and black, halted by the knees of her black boots. Her gloves ended right at her biceps, and the one constant in all of her outfits (aside from the apparel being black) was the striped black and blue scarf around her neck that was long enough to hide her entire mouth if she tilted her head correctly.

Nel, at one point in her life, questioned why this piece always stayed the same whenever she was out doing her business. Clair simply answered that the scarf was tradition in the Zelpher family for some reason. At the time, Clair didn't look like she'd explain more, and so, the redhead hadn't questioned about it again.

_Tradition, huh…?_ She tugged at the scarf for a moment before remembering her current task at hand.

_The Ruby of Apris…_ Looking around, Nel checked her time and began walking to where she heard the gem would be. _I shouldn't linger… The police squad must have already sent someone to scout the premises…_

After passing by several rooms that contained various precious works of art, Nel finally arrived at her destination. The gem sparkled under the moonlight passing through the arched windows. The Ruby was about the size of a basketball and cut somewhat in the shape of an angled teardrop. It was beautiful, of course, another incentive to steal the object…

Walking towards it, Nel savored the success of another item secured for her family's vault, and reached a hand towards it…

"So you _did_ come in on time, Crimson Blade."

Eyes widening, Nel whirled to face the person standing where the voice had come from. She took a step back, teeth grinding at the sight of the commander of the police squadron. _Him…_

It was Albel Nox's turn to have a triumphant and nonetheless smug look on his face as he stood at the entrance she had come in by. The lithe young man still had on his school shirt and pants, either because he obviously didn't care what he wore to work, or just didn't have enough time to change and look decent. The question was just how the skinny commander had managed to follow her without the thief knowing!

"Beautiful isn't it?" Albel asked softly, inclining his head towards the gem, causing Nel to take a cautious step next to it. "… But if you want it, you'll have to get past me, Crimson Blade."

Nel suspiciously narrowed her eyes at him. _He doesn't seem to have any weapons on him…_ Then again, his form was deceptive itself. He may appear to look weak, when in fact he was ten times stronger than his appearance let on. As the adage went, '_Don't judge a book by its cover_,' people who foolishly messed with Albel Nox didn't come out with just a few bruises or black eyes.

Yet, she let out an arrogant grunt and spoke, lowering her voice to make it sound like she was really a man: "Heh. Such bold words, but I could just take this piece and carry on my way right no—"

Nel blinked and moved just in time to avoid a metal claw slashing at the spot in where she previously stood. Regaining her composure, Nel let her eyes travel up the metallic limb that was attached to Albel's body. _A claw? Since when did he get such a thing?_ The thief questioned in her head. Nel knew that an accident had happened in the past to the commander, resulting in the loss of his left arm; what the incident was, she still didn't know, but a claw?

A frown creased itself on her brow as she cursed her momentary lapse of nearly having Albel decapitate her. Right, from now on, Nel needed to be more careful around the young man, in or out of school.

Albel flexed his claw before he charged for her again, this time, speeding himself up a few notches so that she barely sidestepped in time to avoid a swipe at her neck. He didn't stop there, however, as he twisted his torso to send a kick to her stomach. Nel was given a second before she placed her hand in front of her body and caught his foot, yet he put enough force to push her back a few feet, letting her skid to a stop.

_Fast and strong… Even with that metal claw of his…_ Nel's heart drummed in her ears, and the adrenaline rush made her feel more excited, but she calmed herself down. She didn't need to deal with Albel; her main objective was the Ruby…

Once he made the initiative for another attack, Nel produced a smoke bomb and let it fly. As expected, he stopped dead in his tracks with a frustrated growl, and that was her cue to make for the Ruby. Albel closed his eyes, focusing more on his sense of hearing – the sound of the smoke dispersing, hurried footsteps towards the gem – then…

He tackled her to the ground. With a surprised and audible _oomph!_ Nel tumbled backwards, the Ruby of Apris rolling away from her hands as she made contact with the hard, marble ground.

When the smoke cleared, her forest depths locked with crimson. Albel smirked above her, keeping her wrists secured to the ground with his own hands, no matter how hard she struggled. "Got you now, Crimson Blade…" He purred, his hot breath washing over her face.

Nel growled viciously at him. _Curse him!_ She arched and twisted her body in an attempt to get him off of her, but his weight overpowered hers. Plus, he was straddling her effectively so she wouldn't be able to swing her legs the way she'd want them to.

"Ahh… How I've waited long for this moment…" He whispered, his face inches away from Nel's.

She squirmed in vain a bit more until she asked, "What the hell do you want?"

He arched a neatly groomed brow, his hair tickling the exposed skin of her cheeks. "Want? Why, of course! To capture you… But I have another idea in mind…"

This earned him a surprised look from the Crimson Blade. "And what may that be?" She asked, irritated, shooting a glance towards the Ruby lying a few yards from her hands.

The cocky grin on his face stretched an inch. "I'll get straight to the point, then. Awkward as it sounds, I want you to—"

He was interrupted when the lights flashed on. Nel squinted her eyes at the sudden appearance of bright lights before she made use of Albel's distraction to send her forehead onto his chest. She received the response she was waiting for and freed herself from Albel's grasp. A faint click of a sound reached her ears just as she scooped the ruby in her arms before she heard the sounds of the guards running in. Casting an annoyed look Albel's way, she was surprised to see he still had that smug smirk on his face. He just let her go when she crashed through a window to escape.

Vox came running in with a myriad of guards and police officers in tow. He looked around the scene, at the slightly disheveled looking commander, an empty pedestal, and a broken window that could only mean that the Crimson Blade had escaped_ yet again_ with another artifact.

"Guards! Scout the area! I want that thief arrested!" He barked, startling the men behind him.

They saluted and immediately set about to scan the premises and interior of the entire museum. Vox strode over to Albel who was still crouched on the floor. "What the hell happened? The Crimson Blade was here, right?"

"Obviously, considering the absence of the Ruby of Apris…" Albel retorted without even sparing a glance at the older man. He just kept his gaze fixated on the hole the Crimson Blade had made.

The captain of the police squadron growled menacingly at his superior officer's behavior toward him, but kept his tongue in check. "And you just _let_ him take it away?" he pressed.

At this, Albel narrowed his eyes dangerously at Vox, who recoiled inwardly at the vicious intensity that glinted in his crimson orbs. "I _suggest_ you also look around the museum since you're so bent on capturing this thief, Vox. I'll clean up here."

Vox stood still for a few seconds, livid and shaking with anger before he strode away from the room, a deep hatred seeping off of him in his wake. Yet Albel didn't care. With a small smirk, Albel fondly looked at the camera in his hand…

-----

"You're okay, right?" Clair asked worriedly after Nel had relayed the events that had happened in the museum.

While Adray placed the Ruby of Apris with all the other stolen artifacts, Nel sat on her bed, finally out of her thieving attire, with Welch bristling over the small nicks on the cape that was caused by Albel's claw. She spoke, "I'm fine, really. Though, I suppose a minor bump on the back of my head will be the result of him tackling me to the ground…" Nel absently flit her hands to said place, wincing slightly at the small bump that had formed there. Now she knew how hard marble was…

"I'll get you some ice, Nel." Clair offered, concern evident in her hazel-colored eyes. Nel smiled her thanks before the gray-haired woman set off to do the task. Turning to Welch, Nel asked,

"It isn't too bad is it?"

Welch, who was sitting at her desk examining the clothes, glanced over her shoulder. "No, it isn't…" She let out a sigh of relief. "Still… It wouldn't hurt to knit the scratches back together. But you better be careful next time, Nel!" She wagged a finger towards the redhead. "I don't want you to ruin all the magnificently tailored clothes I made for you!"

If life were an anime, Nel would assume she'd have a big sweat drop on her head by now. "I'll keep that in mind…" she replied, leaving Welch to seethe on her own.

Looking out of her window, Nel's mind replayed what happened in the museum. She frowned. _What was Nox going to say then? What plans could he have with me instead of capturing me? Ugh…_ Nel held the bridge of her nose for a moment. Too many thoughts coming to her mind at once just because of a small mishap on her part, and one she could have avoided too! Soon, Clair walked in with a pack of ice and handed it to Nel.

One thing was for sure: Nel was going to have a hard time sleeping on her back.

-----

"Did you hear? Did you _hear_? The Crimson Blade got away again!"

The women around Cliff Fittir groaned as he held yet another newspaper in his hand while Fayt Leingod looked up from his textbook. Maria Traydor hooked a stray strand of azure hair behind her ear and said, "Do we _have _to start this now in the morning _again_, Cliff?"

"Of course! Albel was up close and personal with the Crimson Blade yesterday night!" Then he narrowed his blue eyes and the grip on the newspaper tightened. "But the damn bastard won't tell me diddly squat about what transpired between them!"

Mirage Koas raised a brow in surprise. "Wow, Cliff. You actually said a smart word like '_transpire_'…"

"It must be the end of the world…" Sophia Esteed added, earning a defensive "Hey!" for their remarks. Then Sophia noticed that Nel had yet to arrive to the classroom. Same with Albel…

"Say guys, where's Nel and Albel?"

-----

"What do you want, Nox?" Nel asked, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at the handsome man who stood a few feet ahead of her. She was about to enter her classroom when Albel had suddenly called her out to the courtyard. But thanks to the incident last night, a spike of nervousness tingled up her spine. Nel absently noted his prosthetic plastic arm instead of a deadly, metal claw.

That smirk, the same smirk he had plastered on his face when he had found her about to steal the Ruby of Apris, stretched upon his lips. At this, Nel's nervousness accelerated, yet she kept herself calm and composed on the outside. Whatever the sadistic commander was planning, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that whatever he had in store for her was causing her to feel _this_ distressed. Then again, he must have always had others feel this way, so she deduced that it was normal.

"I have a proposition for you… _Crimson Blade_…" he drawled, relishing at the slight twitch of her eyes at the mention of the infamous thief. "I'm sure you'd agree to—"

"And what makes you think I'm the Crimson Blade, Nox?" Nel cut in, effectively belying her calm tone of voice with the twisted knots of her stomach. "I doubt you'd have any proof that I'm—"

"Ah, but I do!"

Then, to Nel's horror, Albel fished a photo from his pocket. Clearly, it showed the side of her face when she made a break for the Ruby, but the hood had slipped off a little to reveal locks of hair that matched her title, and the scarf around her mouth was pushed back by her sprint, fully revealing Nel Zelpher in the picture. _So _that_ was what that click was for…!_

"Now that I have your full attention," Albel pocketed the photo back and stuffed his hands into his pockets, an effective way to ensure that she wouldn't be able to snatch the photo when he least expected it. "Let me finish."

"… Bastard." Nel snarled under her teeth. She should've known blackmail would be one of his stronger suits in backing people into a corner.

He chose to ignore her name-calling and said, "I'll keep the secret of this photo if, and only if, you agree to my proposition."

Nel kept quiet for a few seconds, reining in her sparking hatred to keep her voice in check. "And what may that be, Nox?"

The smirk widened. "Simple. From now on, I want you to steal for me."

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Well, here's to that chapter and another shower of thanks goes to BlueTrillium for going over this chapter. Hope you all like.


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